Resilient hard-surfaced floor



Jan. 20, 1931. o. s. BowMAN RESILIENT HARD SURFAGED FLOOR Filed Dec.

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wf "f/ i Patented Jan. 2o, 193i .PATENT OFFICE ouvna snowman, or sommo SPRINGS, conomo RESILIE'NT HARD-SURFACEID ILOOF.

Application med December 1s, 1929. seam No. 41am.

This invention relates to improvements in floor constructions of the general type shown and claimed 'in U. S.'Letters Patent No.

tion of my invention;

' 1,539,988, granted to me on June 2, 1925.-

5 It is the' object of this invention to produce a iioor construction in which the surface is formed by hard composition blocks preferably-of concrete construction and which is supported from'a rigid unyieldin surface by yielding means which permits'he ioor` surface to bend when a weight is applied thereto and which therefore has the same yielding and resilient properties as are now inherent in wooden iioors supported on wooden joists..

It has long been recognized that the rigid iioors that are quite extensively employed in ireproof building construction, are objec-' tionable for the reason that owing to their unyielding nature, they are very tiresome fo the person using them.

Another object of this invention is to produce an improved means for anchoring the composition iioors to a flexible wooden base so that it will be securely held to the latter when it iiexes due to the weight supported thereby and which also permits a hinge-like action between the separate blocks of the floor' structure whereby the ioor may yield without cracking or otherwise injuring the hard urface floor that is supportedon the flexible ase.

Another object of this invention is to produce a'n improved anchoring means for holding blocks to the flexible base and for holding the separating strips in proper relation until the cement mixture from which. the blocks are made is utinto place.

l The a ove and other objects that maybecome apparent as the description proceeds,

40 are attained by means ofa construction and an arrangement of parts that will now be described in detail, reference for this purosebeingv had to the accompanying drawing 1n which the invention has .been illustrated, and in which Fig. 1 is a section'taken on line 1-1, Fi 2, an'dv shows one form of my improved voor construction Fig. 2 is a top plan view of a portion of t thetnished floor ,surface showing the location of the anchoring means andthe separating and anchoring strips;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section of a modifica- Fi 4 is a section taken on line L1-4, Fig. 2, 5 5 and shows one of my improved anchoring devices in place;

A Fig; 5 is a section taken on line 5 5, Fig. 4,. and shows a cross section of my improved anchoring device;

Fig. 6 1s a diametrical section of aslightly modified form of anchoring device Fig. 7 is a view similar tothat shown in Fig. 4 and shows another form of anchoring device;

8 is a view showing the crossing of the two separating strips and showing also the anchormg means illustrated in Fig. 7 as it is just before it is put in place; and

Fig; 9 is a transverse section taken on line 70 9-9, Fig. 8.

In he drawing reference numeral 1 repre- Vsents the support which may be a solid concrete slab such as the floor of a fre'proof build- 1n su ject 0f my invention consists of a layer A of composition 2 which, in the present instance, is composed of sand and cement with a top surface of cement and gravel. This is moulded in lace in a manner which will so' hereinafter ge more fully described. The

'flooring member 2 is supported on the upper surface of a layer of waterproof material 3, which may be tar paper or some similar waterproof fabric. The waterproof material 3 in turn is supportedvon the upper surface of the flexible wooden base 4 that is formed from sheathing orv may be formed from tongue and grooved material or from ship'- lap, as the exact kind of material is immaterial.k Supported on the upper surfacefof supporting member 1 are a plurality of strips 5 of wood fiber or any other fibrous yielding material of this nature. If wood liber is used, it should be vof the loose s pongy'type 95 .suchf as is used vfor heat insulation as it is essential that it shall yield when subjected to Y l pressure. Instead of wood liber-it is possible to use material -forme'dfrom' bagasse and whlch 1s now extensively manufactured and 100 The hard surface floor which forms the 7F d to prevent excessive compression of resilient fibrous supports 5.

After the strips 5 have been put in place on the supporting surface 1, and the flexible base 4 assembled and supported thereon, the waterproof material 3 is secured to the upper surface of the base 4. The anchoring devices 7 are now put in place at such positions that they form squares as shown in Fig. 2, or they may form hexagons or triangles, if desired.

The anchoring devices are formed from metalv and are provided at their lower ends with screw threaded portions 8 that are constructed like an ordinary wood screw. Members 7 are provided .with a plurality of radial notches 9, the number of which depends on the shape of the block' which is to be employed in the floor construction. When a square block is used, the anchoring members have four grooves or slots 9, but where hexagone or triangles are employed the number suitable for the shaped blocks must be provided. For the purpose of this explanation the shape of the blocks 10 will be considered to be square. After the anchorin devices have been put in-place and proper y leveled, separating strips 12 are put into place between the different anchoring devices. These strips have their ends provided with 'proj ecting portions 13 that are adapted to extend into'the grooves 0r notches 9. Afterl the separating strips have been put in place, the cap 14 is then attached to the anchoring devices as shown in Fig. 4. These capsare provided with central plugs 15 that are adapted to t the openings 16 provided for their reception. The relative diameter of the plugs 15 and the openings 16 is such that the plugs must be forced thereinto and sufficient friction will,

thereby be produced to hold them in place.`

In Fig. 6 I have shown an anchoring device that is constructed like the one shown in Fig. 4 with thisexception, that the outer surface is corrugatedas indicated by reference numeral 19 and the plugs 15 are threaded as indicated by reference numeral 20. When plugsof this type are used, openings 16 must also be threaded so as to cooperate with the threaded plug. The caps 14 may' be square, round or hexagonal, as

, may be desired. In Figs. 7, 8 and 9 I have Each of these is shown a modified form of anchoring means.

When this anchoring means'is employed, the separators instead of having a length equal to the distance between the anchors, may have a length that is the multiple of this distance. The separators shown in Figs. 7 and 8 have been designated by reference 12a and 12b. provided with notches 21 on one side and strips 12 have a notch 22 that spacers shown in Fig.v 1.

extends u wardly from the bottoni thereof. Strip 12b as a narrow notch 23 that extends downwardly from the bottom of notch 21. The two strips 12a and 12b can be crossed in the manner shown and notch 22 will receive the lower portion of strip`12b, while notch 23 will receive a portion of strip 12a. At the crossing of the strip, an anchoring device is put in place for the purpose of holding them in adjusted position. This anchoring device has been designated by reference numeral 24 and is preferably formed from a cylindrical body having two diametrical slots 25 that cross each other at right angles. Two of the sector shaped portions between the slots project downwardly beneath the other sector shaped portions and are sharpened at their points as indicated by numeral 26. When these anchoring devices are put in place, the pointed portions 26 are driven into the fiex- Yible base 4 and hold the separator strips in aligned position, in the manner shown in Fig. 7. The anchoring devices can be leveled by employing shims in a manner quite apparent, and in this manner .the floor surface can be made level. After the anchoring devices and separator strips have been put in place, the spaces between the separator strips is filled with a concrete mixture comprising sand and cement. The upper surface is formed from a layer of cement and gravel that is free from sand, as such a mixture can be polished and is very hard and wear resisting. After the cement has been properly cured, the surface is ground by means of a suitable' machine so as to produce a smooth polished surface that resembles terrazzo, but which has been found to be much harder and more durable than terrazzo formed from cement and marble chips and besides this it is much cheaperfor the reason that the gravel that is used inthe upper or finishing layer is obtained from the sand itself by means of differential screening.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a cross section of a slightly modified construction. In this construction the floor instead of being supported on an unyielding concrete base like that shown in Fig. 1, is* supported on wooden joists 27 which are resilient and it is therefore not necessary to employ thel fibrous y When the construction illustrated in Fig. 3 is used, the flexible wooden base 4 is supported directly on the joists but in other respects the floor construction is the vsame as that shown and described. n

From the above description it will be apparent that Il have produced a floor construction having a hard polished surface,

but which will yield when pressure is applied to it and which will therefore be much easier on the people who must stand on it than Aif an unyielding surface like the surface of the lmaarre oncrete support 1 served as the floor surace.

The floor surface is moulded in place as above described and the sections are thereforenot made. separately as in tile floor construction and therefore the term block or blocks when used in the specification should not be construed as preformed blocks, but as sections of the moulded oor.

The strips l2 are a part' of the anchoring means and cooperate with members? to hold the sections in place.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is:

1. A flexible, resilient floor construction comprising a rigid support, strips of resilient fibrous material resting on the upper surface of the support and spaced apart, a flexible wooden base resting on the upper surface of the fibrous strips, t e uppersurface of the base being provided with a layer of waterproof material, cement floor sections located on the upper surface of the wateri v proof material and means for anchoring the edges of the sections to the base; said anchor- 1ng meansy compr1s1ng elongated members having their sides provided with radial grooves, the lower ends having threaded projections and the upper ends being provided with openings for the reception of a plug having an enlarged head, said anchoring means being interconnected by metal strips that form compartments for the reception of the concrete mixture.

2. 'A floor construction of the class described comprising, in combination, a flexible supporting base, waterproofing material on the upper surface thereof, a plurality of anchoring devices secured to the upper of the support and spaced' apart, a fiexible wooden base resting onthe upper surface of the sections to the base, said anchoring means comprising elongated members having two substantially parallel side members spaced apart and i pointed at their lower ends, said anchoringl means being interconnected.l by

metal stripsthat form compartments for the reception of the concrete mixture.

5. A Hoor construction of the class described comprising, in combination, a flexible supporting base, waterproofing material on the upper surface thereof, a plurality of anchoring devices secured to the upper surface of the base in spaced relation, said 4anchoring devices comprising a metalbody member provided at. one end with pointed projections adapted to be inserted into the base and having radial grooves adapted to receive separating strips, and separating Istrips extending between the different -anchoring devices whereby compartments are formedl for the, reception `of concrete, and a resilient support for the base.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

OLIVER S. BOWMAN.

surface of the base in spaced relation, sep

arating strips extending between the anchor ing devices whereby compartments are formed for the reception` of a concrete mixture and a resilient yielding support for the flexible base.

3. A floor construction of the class described comprising, in combination, a flexible supporting base, waterproofing material on the upper surface thereof, a plurality of anchoring devices secured to the upper surface of the base in spaced relation, said anchoring. devices comprising a metal body member provided at one end with a pointed projection adapted to be' inserted into the base and at the other end with aJn opening for the reception of the plug portion of a re movable cap, the sides of the lanchoring devices having radial groves. separator strips extending between the different anchoring devices whereby compag'tments are formed for the reception of concrete and a resilient support for said base,

4. A flexible, resilient fi'oor construction' l 

